I respond to direct QSL requests that include an SAE & something to cover return postage, otherwise the reply will go out via the bureau. Bureau cards go out in batches from time to time. Note that as I am not resident in Macau or Malaysia, cards sent via their respective bureaus may not reach me & therefore might not be responded to.
As a fairly active DX station who does his own cards, replies sometimes are delayed. My apologies in advance for this, but that is just the way it is. When I do reply to your card, I confirm all contacts found in the log at that time, so hopefully this will help make the delay a little more bearable. Please bear in mind that email queries take away time that could otherwise be used to reply to cards, though if you feel there is good reason, then by all means send me an email at vr2bg at harts full stop org full stop hk. Requests recently received are shown below. I receive many offers from potential QSL managers, but will continue to do my cards myself, thank you.
I do not take kindly to folks who expect "instantaneous gratification" when it comes to QSLs & go off making less-than-favorable or sometimes outright incorrect posts on mail reflectors or spotting networks - with some 358k contacts in the log & 44k of those confirmed as of the end of 2006, please do not suggest I do not QSL!
I gladly reply to multiple cards in one request - either several stations sharing one envelope to ask for cards for one or more of my calls or one station sending requests for several of my calls in one go - but please remember it does not take many cards to exceed 20 gm! I normally will not respond to cards requesting confirmation of a contact that has already been confirmed, unless some explanation for the need of a duplicate is given.
The correct address to use is: Brett Graham VR2BG, POB 12727, HONG KONG. Mail sent to me at any other address may not reach me. This is the address of the Hongkong Radio Sports Association. Hongkong Post requests that the callsign of a member of a amateur radio society be included in the address when sending mail via a box held by that society.
It is suggested not to include "China" in the address & by all means, do not add "Republic of China" to the address (or your request may arrive like this - if at all). Also, please try not to send cards for me to VR2GB - as time goes by, I increasingly receive items which were first sent to him.
Items sent by registered post will probably be returned "unclaimed" as under International Postal Union rules, an item must go back after 14 days if not collected & sometimes I cannot clear the box that often. If your local post is so pathetic that you need to go registered, contact me first!
Direct requests sent to W7TIR for VS6UP (BTW, VR2UP is somebody else!) or XX9TDM are replied to from Hong Kong - it is suggested they are sent to the address above instead. Cards sent to W7TIR via the bureau may not be responded to. Cards sent to W7TIR for calls other than VS6UP or XX9TDM may be ignored.
A word about bureau cards - at various times over the past few years, I have seen varying amounts of other peoples' cards being sent to me by HARTS. In the worst batch, nearly half of approximately 250 cards received were for others. It is highly likely that others receive my cards by mistake. One batch of bureau cards received (a grocery bag's worth - perhaps as much as 4 kg of cards) was covered in mold. If you are serious about getting a QSL, then please consider not using the bureau. During my most recent work on bureau cards, I found some small batches received with minor water damage, resulting in cards like this or this despite my best efforts. Honestly, use the bureau at your risk - no presumption can be made that I will receive your card, or if it will be in suitable condition to reply to if I do.
Date & calls of direct QSL requests received since 2003:
Latest update: VR2BG is QRT. Nearly all QSLs received through 2009-10-15 (with the exception of a few possible not-in-logs still being looking into, as well as some requests for VS6UP & XX9TDM QSLs that require finding a printer to work with the labels used) had been posted as of the beginning of December, 2009. Bureau cards continue to be fed into the computer, with a massive batch printing hopefully being done sometime this year.
Hongkong Post has on at least two occasions considered items chopped as "taxe perçue" to mean "postage not paid". One item from Japan similar to this & another from Germany are known to have met this fate. It is rare for Hongkong Post to make such a mistake - anyone who has had an item returned for any reason should contact me.
Some logs, such as for VS96BG at the end of 1996 & for VR2BG during the 2002 Russian RTTY DX, 2003 EA RTTY, 2003 SP DX & 2004 SARTG New Year contests had been misplaced. They have been found, but previous QSL requests may have been returned as "not in log" as a result. Please contact me if you have received such a response.
2010-01-22